Qatar foreign investment expands on both fronts

Qatar’s inward foreign direct investment rose 3.3% in the first quarter of 2026 to QAR172.2 billion, while the country’s investments abroad climbed 3.5% to QAR221.7 billion, strengthening signs of expanding cross-border capital activity.
The figures, covering January to March, show foreign investment positions increasing on both sides of Qatar’s balance sheet as Doha pursues a strategy of attracting international capital while expanding its own exposure to overseas markets. The inward FDI figure was up from QAR165.4 billion at the end of 2025. Outward FDI had stood at QAR210 billion at the end of last year.

The National Planning Council’s first-quarter survey, conducted with the Qatar Central Bank, showed that foreign investment entering Qatar remains heavily concentrated in energy and financial services. Mining and quarrying accounted for 45.3% of inward FDI, the largest share, while financial and insurance activities represented 31.9%.

Manufacturing was the third-largest recipient, accounting for 13% of inward investment. Information and communication activities represented 2.8%, while professional, scientific and technical activities contributed another 2%. Together, the five sectors accounted for more than 90% of the country’s inward FDI position.

The composition highlights both the continuing importance of hydrocarbons to Qatar’s investment profile and the growing emphasis placed by policymakers on widening the economic base. Doha has been seeking greater international participation in manufacturing, technology, financial services and other higher-value industries under the Third National Development Strategy and Qatar National Vision 2030.

National Planning Council Secretary-General Abdulaziz bin Nasser bin Mubarak Al Khalifa described the first-quarter increase as a positive signal for Qatar’s investment trajectory. He said policy was increasingly focused not only on the volume of incoming capital but also on investment capable of raising productivity, transferring technology and knowledge, and supporting higher-value sectors.

Qatar’s outward investment portfolio was also broadly distributed, although financial services and energy remained dominant. Financial and insurance activities accounted for 33.5% of outward FDI at the end of March, followed by mining and quarrying with 29.8%.

Information and communication businesses represented 10.8% of overseas investment. Accommodation and food services accounted for 9.1%, while transport and storage made up 7%. Those five areas together represented more than 90% of Qatar’s outward direct investment.

The rise to QAR221.7 billion indicates that Qatar continues to hold a larger direct-investment position overseas than foreign investors hold inside the country. The gap stood at about QAR49.5 billion at the end of the first quarter, based on the preliminary figures. That pattern reflects Qatar’s longstanding role as an international investor alongside its efforts to attract capital into domestic projects.

The latest increase extends the expansion recorded during 2025. Inward FDI reached QAR165.4 billion at the end of last year, about 2% higher than a year earlier, while outward FDI rose 8.1% to QAR210 billion. By comparison, inward investment had stood at QAR157 billion at the end of the third quarter of 2025 and outward investment at QAR203 billion.

The progression suggests that inward investment gathered momentum around the turn of the year. The QAR172.2 billion position at the end of March represented an increase of roughly QAR6.8 billion from the year-end level. Outward FDI increased by approximately QAR11.7 billion over the same period.

Qatar’s investment strategy is increasingly centred on securing capital that complements its diversification objectives rather than relying solely on headline investment totals. The concentration of almost half of inward FDI in mining and quarrying nevertheless demonstrates how strongly the country’s investment landscape remains connected to its hydrocarbons sector.